Russian "Nizhny Novgorod" in the guests beat Kazakhstan "Astana" – 85:73 (17:18, 17:20, 26:8, 25:27). 

The first match of VTB United League in 2018 took place in Kazakhstan. Taking into account the festive pause and early start, no one was surprised when after 6 minutes after the start of the controversial on the scoreboard burned 8:8, and both teams scored less than 40% of the game. The rhythm of "Astana" and "Nizhny Novgorod" became the curtain of the first quarter. If with a set of points the situation has improved, the ratio of forces on the ground remained unchanged. Led by Anthony Clemmons (12 points) and Stevan Jelovac (17 points) opponents went on a big break at the score 38:34 in favor of the hosts. 

For 4 minutes before the end of the third quarter Jacob Odum throws from the line equalized (46:46), then the "Bottom" defended and still the same Odum hit because of the arc for the first time in a long time brought the guests forward. This situation encouraged the Volga region that demonstrated the meaning of the expression "catch the spirit". The citizens upped the tempo and continued to score from long range (Odum, Ivan Strebkov), and stop opponents "Astana" was possible only with the help of violations. The most powerful jerk 18:0 allowed black and white to go to the last mini-break with a solid margin (60: 46). 

The hosts were not going to give up — hard pressing of "Astana" throughout the site and the activity of Justin Carter returned to the match intrigue. Closer to the equator of the decisive 10-minute Kazakhstani team managed to reduce the backlog to 3 points (63:66) after "end UAN" Malcolm Grant. Who knows what would've happened if it hadn't been for Odum. 

At the critical moment of the "Lower" resisted with 9 points in a row from American. His hitting has allowed the Russian team to push the enemy at a distance of 8 points. In the end, the villagers regained control of the game and again made a double-digit advantage. 

The most productive: 
Astana: Justin Carter (20 + 7 rebounds), Leonidas Katelaris (14), Anthony Clemmons (12). Nizhny Novgorod: Jacob Odum (29 + 7 rebounds), Stevan Jelovac (24 + 6 rebounds), Vladimir Veremeenko (9 + 6 rebounds). 

Head coach of Astana Kostas Flevarakis: - Now we are introducing a new player into the team – Malcolm Grant. This is a rather long and painful process. Today we had problems with the guardianship of Lovaza and Odum, we have been unable to solve. We also need to control such things as the percentage of fines — already another match inferior to this indicator. 

Head coach "Nizhny Novgorod" Zoran Lukic: - Very important game! Before coming to Astana, I said that we will fight to the last. The unexpected team lost several games at home, and I hope this victory will give us motivation in the future. The most important thing that today was visible discipline-especially in the third quarter we showed how to play and defend. 

The next match " Astana "will also hold on its parquet, January 15, the capital's basketball players will take on their parquet Latvian basketball club" VEF " in the framework of the VTB United League.

Source:pbcastana.kz